tokyo. the ethiopian Deso Gelmisa crowned this Sunday the tokyo marathon in the sixteenth edition of the race, which marked his return to normality in the participation of runners after four years impacted by the pandemic of covid-19.
Nearly 38,000 runners participated this Sunday in the marathon of the Japanese capital, the largest in the country, which was carried out on a normal scale after the disruptions caused by the health crisis, which led to the cancellation of the 2020 edition and in those after the only participation of professional athletes.
The starting signal took place at 9:00 local time (00:00 GMT) in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building on a cloudy and cool morning in the city.
Gelmisa, 25, crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 22 seconds, less than a second ahead of his compatriot Mohamed Esa, 22, who finished second with the same time.
Also Ethiopian Tsegaye Getachew closed the podium just three seconds behind his teammates, with a time of 2:05:25.
Kenyan Titus Kipruto crossed the finish line in fourth place (2:05:32), followed by Canadian Cameron Levins (2:05:36).
In the women’s category, the Kenyan Rosemary Wanjiru was in first position with a time of 2 hours, 16 minutes and 28 seconds, clearly leading the race ahead of the Ethiopians Tsehay Gemechu (2:16:56), Ashete Bekere (2: 19:11) and Workenesh Edessa (2:20:13).
The return to normality in the race was also noted in the influx of spectators and the cheers in the streets, after in recent years citizens were asked to refrain from going to cheer on the runners as a preventive measure against the virus. EFE
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